About Ancient Greek Theatre

About Ancient Greek Theatre

Background
Ancient Greet theatre was a culture which was very popular during 550-220BC. The place where much of this theatrical culture took place was in the city-state of Athens. In Athens the culture became part of a festival called the Dionysia. This honoured the god Dionysus.
Tragedy, comedy and satyr play were the three dramatic genres to emerge in this city. As this was a similar cultural identity throughout Greece, Athens often held the festival in different locations. The theatrical side of Ancient Greek Theatre has had a significant impact on Western Culture.

The Staging
The Ancient Greek Theatres were very large and open in structure. The seating appeared to slop downwards usually on a hillside, allowing for a better view from all different angles. The plays performed and the art of drama, in Ancient Greece, always had a close connection with religion at the time, therefore theatres were often located near sanctuaries. The Theatre of Dionysus in Athens was built in the sacred precinct of Dionysus at the food of the Acropolis.
In Greek theatre the most important aspects were the orchestra, the place in which the chorus would perform and the chief performance space. The audience sat in the ‘theatron’ (the seeing-place), on semi-circular terraced rows of benches. The structures of these benches varied; in the earliest theatres the benches were built using wood; however this was later replaced with stone. The entrances or exits of the chorus were located on either side of the stage building. This led into or away from the orchestra. The actor’s in the plays had performance space which was usually in front of the stage building. Often the main actors came through the orchestra and interacted with the chorus as a theatrical technique.

The Structure of Plays
There were three basic parts of a Greek tragedy; the prose, the lyrics and the dancing. The tragedy usually begun with the Prologue, this is spoken before the...